Slowly, Derpy returned to consciousness, blinking and sniffling as she woke up. Letting out a quiet yawn, she finally looked around, remembering where she was- on the bed, snuggled up to Rush and Rarity.

Rarity sleepily peeked up at Derpy. “Good afternoon, darling…” She yawned, stretching out.

“Hey, Rarity…” Derpy replied, giving an equally-as-sleepy smile to her marefriend. “Did you have a good nap?”

“I had a great nap, what about you?” Rarity inquired, slowly slipping out from under Rush’s arm. The sleeping zebra seemed utterly undisturbed by the movement.

“I slept great!” Derpy whispered, leaving Rush’s grip as well. Sitting up on the edge of the bed, she let out a yawn and another stretch, asking, “How much longer until Dinky and Sweetie get back?”

Rarity looked over at the bedside clock, “I’d give them just a few minutes if they’re already walking home…” She responded, “Maybe we should get dressed.”

Derpy nodded. “Do you have any clothes over here yet, or do you need to borrow some of mine?” She asked.

“Could I borrow some of yours?” Rarity asked.

“Sure!” Derpy said. She got up from the bed and walked over to her dresser, pulling out an outfit for herself and leaving it open for Rarity. “I hope you’re fine with muffins being on them, though.” She added, pointing out her muffin-themed jeans and shirt.

“I don’t mind.” Rarity laughed, picking an outfit out of the drawer.

“I just hope they fit.. I’m still… I mean, I’m a bit chubbier than you are.” Derpy said, looking down at the floor.

“You aren’t that chubby.” Rarity assured, wrapping her arms around Derpy.

Derpy blushed. “Y-yeah, I am. I never got over the pregnancy fat from Dinky, and I eat a lot of sweets… that’s why my belly and flank are so big.”

“That’s just who you are, Derpy. You aren’t fat, or chubby, you’re you.” Rarity affirmed. “And besides… with your job it’s kind of hard to be unhealthy, right? You’re constantly moving and delivering things to different homes. You’re just right for who you are.”

“Maybe… I just wish that I could have a body like yours.” Derpy said. “All… thin and hourglass-like.”

“Darling, I had to diet for ages to get this shape… and trust me, it’s something I never, ever want to do again. Or have anyone else go through… I’ve been watching my diet now just to keep it like this. I did it just because it’s a lot better for my business to have a slim figure.” Rarity said.

“Well… you-you honestly don’t think I’m too fat?”

“No, you aren’t fat.” Rarity shook her head. “You’re absolutely perfect, just the way you are.”

Derpy smiled again, hugging Rarity back. “Thanks…” She said. Rarity returned the hug and nuzzled Derpy. “What do you want to do until they get here?”

“Why don’t we go get some food?” Rarity asked, “And… maybe we should let Mr. Sleepyzebra here sleep in a little.”

“Ok.” Derpy said, opening the door and holding it as such until Rarity had left. Closing it behind her, Derpy walked to the kitchen. “What do you want?”

“Hmm… how about some hay and daisy sandwiches? Something simple for now. Save some room for dinner.”

“Gotcha!” Derpy chirped, reaching into the cupboards and pulling out the ingredients. “So… is anything new going on with you, Rarity?”

“Not really. I’ve just been busy with a few more orders. What about you, darling?” Rarity responded.

“The same, really.” Derpy said. “I have been dropping packages less, though! My boss says that he might give me a raise if I keep doing well.”

“That’s wonderful to hear!” Rarity smiled widely. “Everything seems to have been getting better for all of us!”

“Yeah… they really have.” Derpy sighed, closing her eyes and smiling. Rarity wrapped her arms around Derpy.

“You’re the best marefriend I could have ever asked for.” Rarity whispered peacefully.

“Thanks… and the same to you, Rarity.” Derpy said, turning her head and giving Rarity a kiss. Rarity pulled back after a moment and smiled widely at Derpy.

“Maybe we should focus on getting food before the little ones come back.” She laughed.

Derpy giggled. “Well, we should only need several sandwiches.” She said. “And if we work together, we can be done in no time!”

“Let’s get them done, then!” Rarity nodded.

Derpy and Rarity went on to make sandwich after sandwich, ending up with twelve of them. “Do you think that that’s enough, Rarity?” Derpy asks, looking up at her.

“This will definitely be enough.” Rarity nodded, “How about we go set them out and wait for Dinky and Sweetie?”

“Sure!” Derpy said, grabbing a plate and loading all the sandwiches on it. “Hopefully, there’s some left for when Rush wakes up.”

“Hopefully… that is, if he even wakes up before it’s time to start dinner.” Rarity chuckled. The two of them walked from the kitchen to the living room, and set the plate down onto the coffee table.

“So… have you thought of anything, yet?” Derpy asked.

“Thought of anything for what?” Rarity inquired.

“For what we can do for Rush, remember? We were talking about that before we went to sleep.” Derpy informed her, sitting down on the couch and patting the space next to her.

“Right… hrrm… I think we should first start with trying to find out more about things he likes.” Rarity stated, sitting down next to Derpy.

“And for that, we were planning on getting Dinky and Sweetie to… well, ‘spy’ sounds bad… maybe ‘observe’. Yeah, that- we’d planned on getting Dinky and Sweetie Belle to observe Rush, and find out what it is that he loves.” Derpy said.

“Yeah. It might be a good idea to also observe him when he’s with us… it’ll be a lot easier if we all try to. Besides, it’s not that strange to notice things he likes, right? I mean… we all are dating.”

Derpy nods, wrapping her arms around Rarity. “That’s true. I just want us to be able to find out without him knowing, like how he tried to do with us.” She said.

“Well… I mean, we did find out after a bit.” Rarity sighed. “Hopefully though… he doesn’t find out…”

Derpy leaned over and gave Rarity a nuzzle, saying, “Well… it’s not really a bad thing if he finds out. It’s just a little bit of a disappointment.”

“Of course. Even if he does find out… we can still surprise him a bit.” Rarity nodded, returning the nuzzle.

“Right. And if all else fails, we still have that week with him in the mountains.” Derpy added.

“I’m sure there will be plenty of surprises up there.” Rarity teased.

“Oooh…” Derpy giggled. “I can just imagine it… a nice fire in the hearth, hot chocolate, and warm, fuzzy cuddles… not to mention how much non-sexual fun we’ll have.”

“Right…” Rarity nodded quickly. “Maybe if we can get it a second time, though…” She sighed, slipping into deep thought.

“What about it?”

“Well… maybe it could be just us next time. You know… you, me, and Rush.”

“Oh!” Derpy gasped, a blush coming across her face. “Mmm… that is a very nice idea.”

“I’m sure it’ll be the best little vacation ever…” Rarity sighed, blushing just as much.

“I just hope it wouldn’t cost us much… and that we could easily find somepony to babysit Dinky and Sweetie.” Derpy said. “But… having that amount of time, just being alone with you and Rush… oh, man. That’s honestly really arousing.”

“Well… I’m sure if I okay Sweetie going to a sleep over, Applejack might watch them for a bit for us.” Rarity said.

“For a week?”

“Hmm… well, we could offer to pay her, if need be.” Rarity suggested.

“Yeah… yeah, sure! I’ll bring it up to her tomorrow, while I’m delivering her mail.” Derpy said.

“That’s a great idea!” Rarity agreed. “Though… hmm.” She trailed off scratching her chin. “I still have yet to really tell anyone about our relationship… it just really doesn’t come up. So… it might be a little startling for them to hear it…”

“I bet Pinkie Pie will throw a party about it.”

“Of course she will.” Rarity laughed. “I’m not worried about what they’ll say, I know they’ll be happy.. I doubt they’ll be anything but.”

Derpy leans further onto Rarity, her head on the unicorn’s shoulder. “I just hope that they’re alright with Rush… I mean, you all kinda… went a little crazy with Zecora.” She said.

“We… all sort of fell into rumors with her… it wasn’t the best time for any of us.” Rarity sighed.

“Well, even though that happened, there’s yet to be much protest or prejudice against Rush so far.” Derpy noted. “I mean, the two times that’s happened has been the exception, not the rule.”

“I think we all learned our lesson from Zecora.” Rarity nodded.

“The way you handled your first meeting with Rush proves that.” Derpy teased.

“Everything afterwards also proves it…” Rarity blushed. “Especially these last few days.”

“Even if you, uh…” Derpy’s smile dropped a bit. “Even if you did try to do things with him that… that weren’t right. But that’s okay.” Her smile returned full force. “We’ve all forgiven each other for that.”

“I never would have, he’s just one of the nicest stallion’s I’ve ever met.” Rarity said. “The thought to treat him as anything besides what he’s treated me like never even crossed my mind.”

“Which is good.” Derpy said. “Especially since it lead to the three of us getting together.”

“It was absolutely wonderful. And I have no doubt that anyone either of us know would treat him any -well, of course it wouldn’t be exactly the same- differently than the way we treat him.”

Derpy nodded. “Do you…” She gulps. “Have you thought about the long-term, yet?”

“Well… it depends on which part of long-term you mean. I mean, it’ll be hard to get the dual-marriage license… but I do think it’d be possible.” Rarity started.

“Do you think it’ll really be that hard?” Derpy asked. “I mean… herds aren’t the most common thing, sure, but they’re not nonexistent, either.”

“I’m sure we can get one, it’ll just be a bit more taxing than getting just one… plus, there’s planning for three families instead of just two…” Rarity continued.

“And… after that?” Derpy said, her voice getting low.

“If you mean foals… well… there’s going to be a time for that… and when it’s time, I mean… I’ve always wanted foals of my own.” Rarity replied.

“Y-yeah…” Derpy smiled. “I… I want a foal from Rush someday… a little zebra-pony… I don’t actually know the correct term for it.” She frowned.

“I think it’s just foal, filly, or colt. I mean… They do still use stallion and mare…” Rarity pondered.

“Whatever the correct name is, it’ll be a beautiful little child of my own.” Derpy sighed. “N-not that Dinky isn’t mine!” She hastily added. “J-just… a foal with Rush as the biological father.”

“I know what you mean.” Rarity assured, placing her hand on Derpy’s shoulder.

Derpy breathed out, laying back down on Rarity. Rarity wrapped her arms around Derpy, squeezing her marefriend tightly. “Do you think-” Derpy started.

“Hi Mommy! Hi Mother!” Dinky said, running in and jumping up onto the couch with her mothers.

Derpy smiled and easily caught her daughter, trapping the little filly in a hug. “Hey there, Muffin!” She said, nuzzling the unicorn.

“Hi Rarity, hi Derpy!” Sweetie waved as she walked into the house right behind Dinky.

“Hi you two.” Rarity smiled, scooping her sister into a hug.

“What have the two of you little troublemakers been up to, hmm?” Derpy asked.

“Nuthin!” Sweetie stated firmly, hugging her sister back for a moment before squirming out of the hold. “We were just walking home.”

“Yeah! We even saw Mr. Rich on the way back, and he told us to tell you and Rarity and Rush hello!” Dinky said.

“That’s great to hear!” Rarity replied excitedly.

“Oh! And he said something about how, “The animal-city between his worker and Rush made him decide to give you a discount on future orders.””

“You mean animosity, not animal city, Dinky.” Sweetie corrected.

“Yes… I heard about that…” Rarity sighed. “And then he decided to carry the entire roll of fabric back.”

“Really?” Derpy gasped. “But those things are huge!”

“I know! I was completely surprised when he walked in with it… though afterwards, he did rest for quite a while.” Rarity nodded.

“Wow… didn’t you tell me before they weigh like… a hundred and twenty pounds?” Sweetie inquired. “Mr. Rush is incredibly strong if he managed to carry one of those from Fancy’s store back to the Boutique!”

“He’s awesome!” Dinky said. “My Daddy is the best zebra ever!”

“He is really awesome!” Sweetie nodded.

“It’s a little weird… he doesn’t really ever show how strong he is.” Rarity commented.

“He never really has a reason to.” Derpy said, giving Dinky a squeeze.

“I suppose you’re right…” Rarity nodded, smiling over at Derpy and Dinky.

“Oooh, you two made some sandwiches!” Sweetie pointed out.

“Yes, we did.” Rarity said, “Did either of you want some?”

“Yeah!” Dinky said. Derpy released her, and Dinky hopped down to grab one of the tasty hay and daisy sandwiches, a smile coming across her face as she chomped down on it. Sweetie grabbed one and looked equally pleased.

“These are really great!” Sweetie said, munching happily on the sandwich. “Where’s Mr. Rush, though?”

“Rush is sleeping right now.” Derpy said. “He’s exhausted from… eh… working out.”

“Ooooh, so did you both watch him work out?” Sweetie inquired further. “You smell kinda sweaty, too!”

“Yes… we did.” Rarity nodded slowly, glancing towards Derpy for a moment.

“Did you do it in the bedroom? I know Mommy did that with Rush a lot, and after Mother became part of your herd, she did, too.” Dinky said, looking up at her mothers.

“Well… um… yes…” Rarity mumbled quietly, nodding her head.

“Was it fun?” Dinky continued.

“Ah… w-well… yeah, i-it was…” Derpy said, blushing. “But, ah, m-maybe you two should focus on your sandwiches, instead.”

“Y-yes, let’s just… focus on eating.” Rarity agreed.

Dinky and Sweetie looked at each other and shrugged, going back to their sandwiches.

“S-so, Derpy should we tell them w-what else happened today?” Rarity gulped quietly.

“Oh!” Derpy said, remembering. “I bet neither of you can guess what happened today!”

“Um… did you go shopping and get us both something?” Sweetie asked.

“Nope!” Derpy shook her head.

“Diid... you both get us toys?” Dinky put in.

“Not that, either.” Rarity said.

“Well… I dunno.” Dinky shrugged. “I give up.”

“I give up too, why don’t you just tell us?” Sweetie asked.

“Well…” Derpy started, looking over at Rarity.

“We…” Rarity continued.

“Got a week-long stay for a cabin in the Foal Mountains!” The two of them said, at the same time.

“That sounds AWESOME!” Sweetie cheered.

Ssshhh!” Derpy said, putting a finger to her lips, before pulling it down and smiling. “Yeah… it is awesome! But be quiet… Rush is still sleeping.”

“Oh… right…” Sweetie nodded. “I can’t wait until we go there! It’ll be so much fun!”

“Yeah! A whole week with just Daddy and Sweetie and my Mommies… it sounds great!” Dinky excitedly said, leaping up in between Derpy and Rarity to hug them both. Sweetie joined the hug, wrapping her arms (as best she could) around all three of them.

Derpy added to the hug by wrapping her wings around all of them, making it extra-fluffy.

“I’m so happy that we all get to spend even more time together.” Rarity said.

“Yeah…” Derpy sighed, nuzzling closer to her daughter, marefriend, and - by technicality- sister.

“It’s going to be the best vacation ever.” Sweetie smiled widely.

The three of them stayed like that for a few minutes, nuzzling each other and being comfortable in the shared embrace.

Finally, Derpy spoke up. “Oh, Rarity and I had something to tell you, girls.”

“What is it?” Sweetie asked, looking up at Derpy.

“Well, it has to do with Rush.” Rarity started. “You see…”

Author's Notes:

Well, except for Rush. He's still sleeping.

Many thanks to my co-writer, Patric122345!
Toodles!
~TOOWC